Shoe-lace fastener.



ffsswgos. v Patented sept. n, |900.

, I wT L. LEE.

SHOE LACE FASTENER.

(Application md muy e, moo.)

(No Model.)

In: wams Urns co. mumufnu. wnsaus'ron, D. c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM LESTER LEE, OF IOLA, KASAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH T0 LEWIS L.NORTHRUP, OF SAME PLACE.

sHoE-LAJCE -FASTEN ER'.

SPECIFICATION forrih'g part Of Letters Patent NO. 657.606, datedSeptember 11, 1900. .'lpplicationl iiled July 6, 1900 Serial No. 22,705.(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.;-

' Be it known that I, WILLIAM LESTER LEE, a I

citizen of the United States, residing at Iola, in the county of Allenand State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Shoe-Lace Fastener,of which the following is a speciiiof this character which is especiallydesigned for use as a Shoestring or lace fastener, so as to obviate thenecessity of tying the laces, and

'arranged to rmly hold the free ends thereof against being accidentallyloosened.

Another object of the invention is to arL range the device so as to holdthe tongue of the shoe in its proper place, and thereby prevent the samefrom working downwardly into the shoe by the action of the foot of thewearer. range for facilitating the engagement and disengagement of theshoe-lacewith the fastener and at the same time to preventaccidentalopening or releasing ofthe device from the lace by the action of thebottoms of trousers or skirts.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, itv being understoodA that changesin the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacricing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a detail perspective View showingtheimproved fastener applied to the bow-knot of a shoe-lace. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the fastener with the hingedly-connected members thrownopen. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device. Fig. 4 is atransverse sectional view to show the connection with the tongue of ashoe.

Corresponding parts are designated by like characters of reference inall of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates the body of thefastener, which It is furthermore designed to aris concavedlupon itsunder face, as indicated at 2 in Fig. 3 of the drawings, so as to t thetransversely-rounded ankle of the wearer. This body portion or member issubstantially rectangular or oblong in shape and is provided upon itsouter side with the opposite longitudinal outstanding edge flanges 3,and in the center of the body there is provided a circular opening et.At opposite sides of the central opening there is provided a pluralityof transverse parallel grooves or depressions to form corresponding ribs5, which are sharp or of substantially inverted-V shape, the upper edgesthereof being serrated, as best indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.Leading from the front edge of the central opening is a transverse slot6, which is inclined toward one end of the body, so as to open outthrough the!v front edge thereof at one side of the center of the body.

Completely covering the outer side of the body member is a swingingmember or jaw 7, which has its rear edge connected to the rear edge ofthe body by means of a suitable hinge 8, as shown in Fig. 4. Extendingoutwardly from the center of the inner side of the swinging member is aIstud or projection 9, which is somewhat smaller than the centralopening in the body, so that said stud may loosely fit therein. Theouter end of this stud is serrated or roughened to form afriction-surface. At opposite sides o f the stud there is provided aplurality of transverse parallel ribs l0, corresponding to the ribs ofthe body, but arranged in staggered `,relation thereto, so that when thetwo members are closed together the ribs of one member will be receivedbetween the adjacent ribs of the other member, so as to formgrippingteeth. To lock the two members together, there is provided aspring-catch 11, which is secured to the outer side of the front edge ofthe body and hasl a spur or projec- Ation l2 to spring into a suitablenotch or recess formed in the front free edge of the swinging member. Itwill nowbe Vunderstood that the slot 6 is inclined, so as to permit ofthe spring-catch being located midway between opposite ends of thefastener.

The device is connected to the upper end portion ofthe tongue 13 of ashoe 14 by means IOO of a hook or eye A15,;projected outwardly'from therear vedgeofth'e body and loosely `engaged with a ring or eye 16,secured to the front or outer side of the tongue, thereby forming a`looseor hinged connection between the fastener-and the tongue or theshoe. l, In using the device .the vs`hoe-laces'l7 'are` entered throughythe slot 6 intolthe ceritral` opening 4, `after which they are folded orlooped across the body, and then the-swinging member is closed down uponthe laces, so that the stud 9 forces the same down into the centralopening,.-and the opposite-,pom tions of the laces arermly clampedbetween the ribs of the two members, the spring-catch snapping intoengagement with the head or swinging member, soas to lock thesame."

Thustheshoe-lace is held against being`ae` cidentally untied or loosenedby the action of the foot, andas the device is-connected !to the tonguethel latter isprevented from workingvdown'intothe shoe. Also thehingedconnection of thedevice facilitates the engage- 1 ment thereofwith thel shoe-lace.

What is claimed is 4 1. A shoe-lace fastener, comprising a body having`a centraloperiing therein, anda-slot;`

communicating therewith, and `al-swingingl member or headhingedlyconnected to the!` body, and provided with a central stud or projectionwhich is received within theeen-v tral opening, when the device isfastened.

2. A shoe-lace fastener, comprising a body, A. having a central opening,and a transverse longitudinally-inclined slot/opening out through thefront edge of the body and also 'commu-1 nicating withthe opening, aswinging -memf ber hingedly connected tothe rear edge'of the body, andprovided with a central'stud" or-projection, which is received withinthe central opening, in thefastened -position of the device, and aspring-catchsecured to the middle of the' front edge of the body and forengagement with the swinging member.

3. A shoe-lace fastener, comprising a body,

navinga centralopening, and opposite suo-Ns'tantiallypa'rallel.transverse ribs at Vopposite sides of theopening,'a`nd a swinging member hingedly connected to onel edge of thebody,

fand provided "with a central stud or projection to enter the openinginthe body, and also having ribs located at opposite sides of thestudfandarranged in staggered relation to the ribs of the body.

ing betwe'enthe anges, a swinging'member l hinlgedly connected toftherear edge of the body, and provided'with a central lstud or projectionto belreceive'dwithin the central opening, -and transverseribs npon theinner 'side of =the member-and -atopposite sides of the stud, saidfribs-being in staggeredlrelation to thoseT of' thebo'dy; andaspring-catch to hold l themembers closed.

vIn' testimony that I claim the foregoingv as my ownfIA have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of vtwo Witnesses.

VWILLIAM LESTER LEE.

`Witnesses v BERT MILLER, T. S. STOVER.

